Complex Trauma Therapy in Racine, WI
Supporting recovery from prolonged or repeated stress, including experiences often referred to as Complex PTSD
There’s a tension you can’t quite explain.
Tight shoulders. Racing thoughts. A pit in your stomach that never fully settles.
You’ve been in survival mode for a long time.
Always alert. Always managing.
Sleep is shallow. Rest doesn’t come easily.
The past doesn’t feel close—but it keeps showing up anyway.
In your reactions.
In your relationships.
In your body.
There wasn’t one defining moment.
Just years of adapting, pushing through, and learning how to stay functional.
You’re not looking to rehash every memory.
You just want to feel calm again. To stop living on edge—and finally feel safe in your own skin.
So how do you know if this kind of therapy is the right fit for what you’re experiencing?
Who Complex Trauma Therapy Is Most Helpful For
This work is especially helpful for people who went through a specific period of prolonged or repeated stress, threat, or overwhelm—and found that their body never fully returned to baseline afterward.
You may be able to name when things changed, even if it’s hard to explain why your system is still reacting now. The situation may be over, but your nervous system continues to respond as if it isn’t.
Complex trauma therapy may be a good fit if:
You experienced ongoing stress, danger, or instability over time
Your symptoms began after a particular period rather than “always being this way”
Your body still feels braced, alert, or exhausted long after the event ended
You appear functional on the outside but feel unsettled internally
You’ve tried talking things through, but your reactions haven’t shifted
When Trauma Is Prolonged or Repeated
Not all trauma comes from a single moment.
Sometimes trauma develops when stress, threat, or overwhelm lasts longer than the nervous system can recover from. This may include prolonged medical experiences, repeated exposure to danger or unpredictability, caregiving under chronic strain, or sustained emotional or physical pressure.
Even when the situation eventually ends, your body may continue to respond as if it hasn’t.
You might notice:
A constant sense of vigilance or readiness
Strong reactions to reminders, pressure, or uncertainty
Difficulty relaxing or fully resting
A feeling that you survived something—but didn’t quite come back the same
These responses are common in complex trauma. Your nervous system adapted to endure ongoing stress, and it hasn’t yet learned that it’s safe to stand down.
Therapy focuses on helping your system complete that process—so it no longer has to stay in survival mode.
Why Trauma Shows Up in the Body
Trauma isn’t just something you remember—it’s something your body learned.
When stress or threat persists, the nervous system shifts into fight, flight, or freeze to protect you. In the moment, this response is adaptive. It helps you get through what’s happening.
The challenge is that long after the threat has passed, the body can remain mobilized.
That’s why trauma may show up as:
Chronic tension, tightness, or pain
Anxiety or sudden surges of emotion
Numbness, shutdown, or disconnection
Trouble sleeping, resting, or slowing down
These are not signs that something is wrong with you.
They are signs that your nervous system did exactly what it was designed to do—and hasn’t yet been given the conditions to reset.
Brainspotting is a body-based therapy that helps access and process trauma stored beneath conscious awareness.
Rather than focusing only on narrative or insight, Brainspotting allows us to slow down and notice how your body responds in the present moment. This often brings awareness to patterns that feel automatic—responses that activate before your mind has time to catch up.
Through this process, many people begin to notice:
How their body signals stress or protection
When familiar survival responses are being activated
What feels grounding versus overwhelming
As these patterns become recognizable in the body, they become more flexible. Brainspotting supports the nervous system in processing what it has been holding, allowing survival responses to soften rather than stay locked in place.
This work is paced, contained, and collaborative—especially important for complex trauma.
How Brainspotting Supports Complex Trauma Recovery
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No. Trauma therapy isn’t about forcing you to relive painful memories. We move at your pace, focusing more on how your experiences show up in your body and daily life today, rather than revisiting every detail of the past.
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Yes. Many people find virtual trauma therapy just as effective as in-person sessions. Whether you’re in Racine or anywhere else in Wisconsin, you can access support from the privacy of your own space.
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That’s okay. You don’t have to have the “perfect words” to begin therapy. Sometimes we start by noticing body sensations, practicing grounding skills, or exploring small goals. Therapy unfolds gently, in a way that honors where you are.
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There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. Some people find relief in a few months, while others choose to continue for longer as they deepen their healing. Progress often depends on your goals, your history, and the pace that feels safe for you. What matters most is not how fast you go, but that you’re supported every step of the way.
Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma Therapy in Racine, WI
Living with complex trauma can be exhausting. You may have learned how to push through, stay productive, and keep going—but that doesn’t mean your system has had a chance to rest.
With the right support, therapy can help you:
Feel less reactive and more grounded in your body
Experience greater ease with rest and relaxation
Respond to stress with more flexibility rather than urgency
Reduce the sense of always being “on”
Reconnect with a feeling of internal steadiness and safety
Healing doesn’t mean erasing what you’ve been through.
It means your nervous system no longer has to organize your life around surviving it.
Benefits of Complex Trauma Therapy
My approach is trauma-informed, body-based, and grounded in nervous system awareness.
We won’t rush or force anything. Instead, we work at a pace that allows your system to feel safe enough to notice what’s happening beneath the surface—without becoming overwhelmed.
I integrate Brainspotting and other somatic approaches to support processing that doesn’t rely solely on words. We pay attention to cues like tension, shutdown, activation, or relief, and use those signals to guide the work.
This approach is especially supportive for trauma connected to identifiable experiences or periods of prolonged overwhelm. The goal is not to fix you—but to help your system recognize that it no longer has to stay in survival mode.
I offer in-person sessions in Racine, WI, as well as virtual therapy for clients across Wisconsin.
My Approach to Complex Trauma Therapy
Complex Trauma Therapy in Racine, WI Can Help
Many people living with complex trauma wonder why they’re still reacting the way they do—especially when life looks stable now.
In therapy, these reactions aren’t minimized or pathologized. They’re understood as intelligent adaptations your nervous system made to get you through something difficult.
Over time, therapy becomes a place where your body can begin to settle. You may notice small but meaningful shifts: more space between trigger and response, moments of calm where tension once lived, or a growing sense of internal safety.
These changes accumulate.
And with support, your system can learn that it no longer has to stay braced for what has already passed.